Restoule appreciates chance

Adam Restoule, a 6-foot-3, 217-pound forward from Thunder Bay, was obtained in the offseason from the Sudbury Wolves to give the London Knights some more size up front and, in his words, “to help keep the room light.” (CRAIG GLOVER, The London Free Press)

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About a year ago, Adam Restoule started to get the sense something wasn’t quite right.

He didn’t know what was happening, but figured out pretty quickly a big, strong OHLer shouldn’t be in this kind of pain.

“I was still with Plymouth when I first noticed something happening,” the London Knights winger said. “My stomach was bothering me a lot and it didn’t stop.”

At first glance, it appeared he was suffering from Crohn’s disease. He was showing many symptoms of the inflammatory bowel ailment.

“It ended up being my kidneys,” the 19-year-old from Thunder Bay said. “They weren’t functioning the way they were supposed to and that’s what was causing all the problems.”

It made for a turbulent season.

He went from Plymouth to Sudbury and was in and out of the Wolves’ lineup, the whole time there spent wondering about his health.

“It wasn’t working out,” he said. “My family was pretty scared. At the time, we didn’t know what was wrong with me.”

The scars from the experience threatened his hockey dreams.

“I didn’t know what was going to happen,” he said. “I was released and went home. I wasn’t sure if I would get another chance (in the OHL).”

He was picked up by the Portage Terriers of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League for their playoff run.

“I went because it was close to Winnipeg and they had a really good (clinic) there that I thought would help me and it did,” he said. “I didn’t play much but the team went to the RBC Cup (the junior A championship) and it was fun to be a part of it.”

The 6-foot-3, 217-pounder said he went on an eight-week program of dieting and probiotics.

That, plus time, did the trick.

“I feel fine now,” he said. “Other than a little bit of irritation, I haven’t had any more problems.”

At the same time he was looking for a way back into major junior, the Knights wanted to add some size to their front lines.

While much of the talk this weekend will be about the Knights facing old mate Andreas Athanasiou in Barrie on Saturday, Restoule also has the chance to show Sudbury on Sunday afternoon how far he has progressed.

“I was so excited about the trade when it happened,” he said. “Everyone knows what kind of organization the Knights are.”

He jumped at the opportunity to contribute and has shown no ill effects from last year’s struggles. He scored two goals — doubling his career total — in the season opener against Erie.

Against Windsor, he took on Spitfires tough guy and Exeter native Ty Bilcke in the first shift.

“He had been talking to Jack (teammate Jack Nevins) at the faceoff so I didn’t know what was going to happen, but when he slashed me in front, I figured he wanted to start it,” Restoule said. “They’re a team that never stops talking and it worked out well for us because we won 8-2. It was tough, though, because it was (a minute into the game) and we had been cycling the puck around pretty good in their end.”

The Knights have plenty of young forwards ready to break into the lineup. Restoule would seem like a top candidate to sit, but he has dressed in seven of eight games so far.

“They’ve given me a chance here and I can’t say enough about this opportunity,” he said. “We know guys will sit out. That’s going to happen, but I’ve been given chances. I know my job is to help keep the room light and this is a tremendous group of guys.